Visions of Democracy Podcast

09 The Unappetizing History of American School Lunches

We're kicking off season two by looking at the unappetizing history of American school lunches. Today, most schools offer noontime meals through the National School Lunch Program. In this episode, we'll explore the history of that program and other efforts to feed hungry school children. If you are interested in learning more, check out Susan Levine's School Lunch Politics: The Surprising History of America's Favorite Welfare Program.

Visions of Democracy Season Two The Peculiar Histories of American Welfare

In season two of Visions of Democracy, we will explore the economic aspects of democracy. As we all know, in democracies, citizens vote for their leaders. Elected officials represent their constituents’ interests in the policy-making process. As representatives make laws, they distribute public resources. Through the funding of public schools and libraries, the construction and maintenance of infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and much more, officials allocate our tax dollars. In the process, they make decisions about who gets to benefit from public money. They decide who deserves public resources and who does not. These are the economic aspects of democracy that we will consider this season as we examine the peculiar histories of American welfare.

Eposide 08: The Commons With Al Haber and Dr. Davis Allen

In this episode of Visions of Democracy, we hear from Al Haber and Dr. Davis Allen and we explore the commons. After the 1960s, many of the activists continued to organize in their local communities. Al Haber fought to establish a commons in Ann Arbor. His campaign succeeded. But what is a commons? How do people conceptualize common ownership of land? Dr. Davis Allen, an expert on the history of capitalism and the commons, tells us about the different ways that common ownership and use of land functioned historically. Transcript available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19SMuOfQhsmvsVGYhXOsIIWn4TsWslsSc Credits: Music- Wanna Go by INOSSI | @inossi Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Image- Photo by Kellyson Silvaon on Unsplash

07 Political Realignment: Racial Politics in the Democratic Party during the 1960s

In this episode of Visions of Democracy, we explore efforts to realign the Democratic Party. In the early 1960s, members of the Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee wanted to build a new alliance under the Democratic Party. Their goal was to expel Southern Democrats, economically-liberal politicians who supported Jim Crow, and bring in Progressive Republicans. Transcript available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19SMuOfQhsmvsVGYhXOsIIWn4TsWslsSc?usp=sharing Credits: Music- Wanna Go by INOSSI | @inossi Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Image- Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash Interested in learning more? Check out these resources: https://snccdigital.org/events/mfdp-challenge-at-democratic-national-convention/ https://thetreeofprotest.com/ https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/mfdp-convention/ Or read these books: Lisa Anderson Todd, For a Voice and the Vote: My Journey with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2015). Earnest N. Bracey, Fannie Lou Hamer: The Life of a Civil Rights Icon (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2011).

06: Poor Single Mothers, Rats, And Poverty: Who Should Write Antipoverty Policy?

In this women's history month special episode, we explore how women on welfare demanded representation in their local government. Transcript and sources available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19SMuOfQhsmvsVGYhXOsIIWn4TsWslsSc?usp=sharing Music- Wanna Go by INOSSI | @inossi Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US